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Monday, March 19, 2012

S'mores pie

This post originally appeared on the Latter-day Woman Magazine Blog.

Mmmm pie. This pie hearkens back to childhood, but with a subtle twist of sophistication: a two-crust s’mores pie (afraid of pie crusts? This one’s pretty foolproof). To me, s’mores are fantastic around a summer campfire, but even better when enjoyed on a crisp autumn evening. Winter? YES. (It snowed yesterday :\ .) Spring? Okay, seriously—when isn't a good time for s'mores?

It can be hard to recreate the gooey s’more experience without resorting to fire, which is discouraged outside of a fireplace, at least according to my homeowner’s insurance policy. This pie eliminates that dilemma. It’s best enjoyed fresh out of the oven, pretty much all year.

I repinned the S’mores pie from Cookies and Cups, which she adapted from Hershey’s S’mores Blondie Pie. (She added vanilla and eliminated the chocolate drizzle on top. I can attest that it is perfect just this way.) So this is my version of Cookies and Cups’s version of Hershey’s S’mores Blondie Pie.

The crust is actually a cookie made with both flour and graham cracker crumbs. You put half of it in the pie pan and press it into the pan with your fingers. Then spread the marshmallow cream with a spatula.

The recipe calls for six regular-sized Hershey’s bars. Because I’m cheapthrifty, and I know that a six-pack of Hershey’s bars was $4.50 on sale at my grocery store, I went for the only-slightly-smaller Giant Hershey’s bar. The six-pack is 9.3 oz and the Giant bar is 7 oz and closer to $2.

Break the chocolate in pieces and place in a single layer over the chocolate. Note that when I make this next time, I’ll cut the pieces smaller for better coverage—the big chunks seemed to weigh the marshmallow down.

Roll the second crust out between two sheets of waxed paper. Carefully put it on the pie. Fold the edges over and crimp to seal. Let’s cut to the montage (and yes, my hands are trav’ling at the speed of light as I crimp the crusts):

Bake and you get this (minus the handsome assistant holding the pie; he stays with me):

Let me just tell you what this is like: the crisp, crumbly texture of a perfect cookie, with the chewy middle, filled with gooey warm marshmallow and melted chocolate. It is pretty rich, but amazing! I was very surprised at just how tasty this turned out. In fact, even though I swear I could feel it coating my arteries with every bite, I had to have a second piece.

Verdicts:
Taste: The best part of camping and bonfires perfected at home.
Texture: The cookie crunch plus melty marshmallow and chocolate? Oh yeah.
Easy to make: If you can make cookies, you can make this.
Durability: Still tasty, but reheating just couldn’t replicate that fresh-out-of-the-oven experience.
Wow factor: When freshOverall: 4.6 stars.

2. Crust: Cream butter and sugar. Mix in egg and vanilla. Slowly add flour, graham cracker crumbs, and baking powder. (Or you can do what I do: cream butter and sugar, and then everything else.) The dough will be somewhat stiff, like cookie dough. Divide dough in half, and press half into the pie pan.

3. Filling: Spread the marshmallow creme in the pie crust. Break the chocolate bare in pieces and spread in a layer over the marshmallow.

4. Top crust: Roll remaining dough out between two sheets of waxed paper. Carefully peel off one sheet of paper. Place the crust, waxed paper side up, on top of the pie. Peel off the second sheet of waxed paper. Roll, crimp or pinch the edges of the pie.

5. Bake: 20 minutes until golden brown and delicious.

6. Cool: on a wire rack, resisting as long as you can. (It’s best warm!)